For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. 2 Corinthians 5:10

The recession is real. For some, it is realer than others.

For example, according to Forbes Magazine, 355 people who once were billionaires are now ex-billionaires. Eighteen of the billionaires are ex-billionaires because they died; others are losers because of situation and circumstance. High on that list is Anil Ambani of India who found his fortune diminished from $31.9 billion to a meager $10.1 billion.

Of course, in tough times not everyone loses.

As proof, I give you Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman. This year, Shorty made it onto the billionaire list. Now, it's possible you don't travel in Shorty's circles, so a word or two about him might be in order. Shorty, who is just five-feet tall, is responsible for thousands of deaths in Mexico's drug war. He is at the top of that country's most-wanted list, and his illegal drug sales have made him a billionaire.

This goes to show things in this life are not always fair, and they aren't always right.

But I'm not telling you anything you don't know, am I? We have all seen, we have all experienced the inequities of life. It seems like the good ought to prosper and the bad ought to be punished, but it doesn't always work out that way -- not in this life.

But this life is short, and what we see is not the final chapter of the story. The Savior, Jesus Christ, came into this sinful world to change our final chapter. By His suffering, death, and resurrection, all who believe on Him are forgiven and their eternity is changed.

Because of Jesus, when the last page of our lives in this world is being written, we will appear before the judgment seat of the Savior. There we will receive the right rewards of what we have done.

And believers -- because of Jesus -- will be found holy, pure, and righteous. Because of Jesus, their good works will be remembered and their sins will be forgotten.

On that day, according to God's grace and plan and by means of the Savior's victory, the scales will be balanced and we will all count ourselves rich beyond imagining.

THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, for Your grace, the Savior's sacrifice, and the forgiveness that comes through His victory, I give thanks. I pray the lost of the world, even the Shorty Guzmans, may repent, believe, and be saved. In Jesus' Name, I ask this. Amen.

By God's grace, this devotion is freely shared with you. Still, I don't know all the people who need it or should read it. Won't you forward it to that someone? Just click the "Forward this devotion to a friend" link below. You can also direct them to sign up for the DD's at: http://www.lhm.org/email/register.asp.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Deuteronomy 5-7    Luke 3

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